


Unfinished Business

by VivArney



Category: Zorro (TV 1990)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 10:56:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5624476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VivArney/pseuds/VivArney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story takes place after the series finale</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unfinished Business

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may  
as well make it dance.  
George Bernard Shaw

Victoria Escalante looked up from her sweeping to see  
Alejandro and Diego de la Vega entering the tavern.

"Buenos dias, Victoria!" Alejandro said.

She leaned her broom against the bar and let her dark  
eyes take in the two caballeros. Their eyes shone  
with excitement and huge grins beamed from their  
handsome faces. "Well, you two certainly look happy.   
Did the cattle auction go that well?"

"Very well," Diego said. He gave her a mischievous  
grin and his blue eyes twinkled. "We even brought  
back a surprise for you."

"You did?" she asked in disbelief. This was unusual.   
The de la Vegas had been family friends for many  
years, but she hardly expected gifts from them.

"They certainly did," a familiar voice called as a  
thin, well-built figure silhouetted itself between the  
door and the bright morning sunshine. "I had to come  
see my sister."

"Ramon!" she cried and launched herself across the  
room at her brother.

Alejandro and Diego stood off to one side watching as  
Ramon Escalante laughed and folded his long arms  
around her. Their words of greeting tumbled over each  
other as the brother and sister hugged and kissed each  
other.

Victoria's eyes glittered with tears as she held her  
brother away from her to look him over critically.   
"Oh, Ramon, it's so good to see you after so long!"  
Victoria told him.

"It's good to see you, too," Ramon said.

"We'll leave you two alone," Alejandro offered.

Victoria wiped at the dampness on her cheeks and put  
her arm around her brother's waist. "No, you don't  
have to..."

Diego held up a hand. "Spend some time with your  
brother, Victoria. We'll be back later." He and his  
father exchanged pleased grins and left the tavern.

* * * * *

 

The ride back to the hacienda was uneventful and Diego  
and his father were glad to be back home after nearly  
a week. They swung down from their horses as Felipe  
came running out into the courtyard, a big grin on his  
face.

"You didn't miss us, did you, Felipe?" Diego asked his  
friend with a broad grin.

Felipe nodded, his dark eyes earnest. His thin  
fingers flashed as he excitedly told the men what had  
happened since their departure.

"Juana's daughter made you a flan this morning, eh?   
Oh, that sounds rather serious, amigo," Diego teased.   
"She must be quite fond of you."

Alejandro laughed. "Was it as bad as the others?"

Felipe shrugged and indicated that he had saved it to  
share with them.

"Oh, I don't know whether we should, Felipe," Diego  
said. "Lupita made it for you. She might object if  
you shared it with us. Women can be rather sensitive  
about such things."

Felipe smiled up at his friend as they entered the  
hacienda. This wasn't the first time Lupita Saldaña  
had done such a thing.

Lupita was a very lovely young lady, but she was a  
dreadful cook and a little too intent on marriage.   
Everyone knew she had sent a flan to Corporal  
Sepulveda last month and Corporal Torrez the month  
before that. Even the alcalde had received one of her  
flans in the past. Lupita and her mother didn't seem  
to care WHO Lupita married, only that she got married  
\- and as soon as possible.

"So, what's the alcalde been up to while we were  
away?" Diego asked when they sat down to lunch a short  
time later. "Anything Zorro needs to take care of?"

"Diego, we just got back!" Alejandro protested. He  
was tired from the long ride and he was sure his son  
was as well.

"I'm sorry, Father, but you promised not to  
interfere," Diego reminded him quietly.

Alejandro nodded, remembering the night, a few months  
earlier when he'd learned Zorro's true identity and  
that Felipe could hear after all. 

In the days that followed, he, Diego and Felipe had  
spent hours discussing Zorro's exploits. He realized  
he had become a bit overprotective since he'd learned  
Diego's secret and there were days that Diego  
obvisously found his father's concern rather  
stifling. "No, I'm sorry, son. Go on, Felipe."

Felipe shook his head. *Been good all time.*

Diego frowned. "That's odd."

"Thank goodness for small favors, eh, Diego?"

"Yes, perhaps, Father."

* * * * *

"There he is, men!" a voice roared a few days later.   
"Get him!"

Zorro didn't need to look back to see who had  
shouted. He knew the voice and the tone all too  
well. He was surprised, however, that Ignacio DeSoto  
had been able to track him this far. Obviously, the  
alcalde was finally learning his tricks.

"Looks like it's time to change tactics, amigo," he  
told Toronado as he urged the big stallion through  
Diablo Canyon.

Toronado broke into a full gallop, quickly leaving the  
slower garrison horses behind in a cloud of choking  
dust.

Zorro grinned as the sound of hoarse coughs echoed off  
the canyon's high walls. When he was certain he'd  
lost his pursuers, he slowed Toronado to a trot. He  
would like to have returned to his cave, but the  
alcalde and his men were between him and the hidden  
entrance. He'd just have to lie low and wait for the  
alcalde and his men to give up the search. It  
wouldn't be long, he knew, it was almost unbearably  
hot and it hadn't rained in nearly a month.

He reached up to wipe at a bead of sweat as it  
trickled down from beneath his mask and felt another  
trace a path down his back. There were definite  
drawbacks in an all black costume.

Zorro and Toronado passed a small herd of wild horses  
and the man in black was hit with a flash of  
inspiration. He quickly dismounted and unsaddled  
Toronado. 

There was a small cave nearby where he could hide for  
a while and get out of the blazing sun. He was  
certain Toronado would stay with the wild horses. He  
tossed some small stones into the cave to make sure it  
wasn't already inhabited and got no response. After a  
moment, he tossed in some more stones to make doubly  
certain before he took a chance on entering. He was  
too hot and too tired to deal with an encounter with a  
rattlesnake or mountain lion.

Finally, he picked up his saddle and hid it behind a  
large bush nearby then entered the dark coolness. The  
opening let in just enough light to help him avoid the  
few obstacles he found as he set about exploring the  
cave.

The cave was deeper than he'd first suspected. It  
ended in a narrow crevice two feet long. Cool air on  
his face told him there was another area behind the  
opening.

Zorro shivered as the cool breeze flowed through his  
perspiration soaked clothing. Keeping to the shadows,  
he moved back toward the cave opening to look down  
into the canyon.

He watched in silence from behind the large bush that  
hid the cave's entrance as the lancers rode past his  
hiding place never suspecting that their quarry stood  
only a few yards away.

The wild horses scattered at the approach of the  
lancers and the masked man was glad to see that  
Toronado, who had remained at the outer edge of the  
herd, had followed suit.

Relaxing slightly, Zorro found himself a comfortable  
spot from which he could keep an eye on the men below  
and still get a little rest at the same time.

He frowned in concern as the ground shivered beneath  
him. The pueblo had survived two massive earthquakes  
since it's founding and who knew how many of these  
minor tremors. The roof of the cave seemed stable  
enough, but he had no way of confirming it. His blue  
eyes focused on the low ceiling, he weighed the  
possible risks of remaining in the cave against the  
certain danger of meeting up with the alcalde and his  
men and trying to deal with them on foot. He decided  
to remain in his hiding place.

* * * * *

 

"He's gone!" Mendoza reported.

"Impossible, Sergeant," Ignacio DeSoto snapped. "No  
one, not even Zorro, can vanish into thin air."

"But there's no sign of him," Mendoza insisted.

The alcalde stroked his goatee and shifted in his  
saddle as he scanned the steep slopes and treacherous  
piles of boulders that made up the canyon walls.   
"We're missing something, Sergeant."

Mendoza tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. "Si,  
mi Alcalde, lunch."

The white haired man glared at the heavy-set  
sergeant. "Oh, stop whining about your stomach!"

The ground shook violently and Mendoza cried out as he  
suddenly found himself thrown high into the air. His  
horse reared and kicked in terror before it, and  
Mendoza, landed heavily on the canyon floor.

Corporal Sepulveda was off his horse and kneeling  
beside his friend in an instant.

DeSoto, too, dismounted and walked over to the fallen  
sergeant. "How badly is he hurt, Corporal?"

The younger man looked up. He shrugged and helped the  
injured man into a sitting position. "I don't know,  
mi Alcalde."

Mendoza groaned and raised a hand to his shoulder.   
"Madre de Dios! What happened?"

"An earthquake," DeSoto said as he bent to examine  
Mendoza's horse. It lay on the ground, flailing and  
screaming in pain. The alcalde frowned. Both of the  
animal's front legs were badly broken. He turned to  
one of the other men and borrowed his musket. There  
was a sharp, echoing report and the horse lay still.   
DeSoto silently handed the spent weapon back to its  
owner. "Can you ride, Sergeant?"

Mendoza nodded, "I think so, mi Alcalde," he said in  
a voice tight with pain.

Sepulveda and Torrez, another lancer, helped their  
friend up onto Sepulveda's horse.

"What now, Alcalde?" Sepulveda asked.

DeSoto sighed in resignation. "Back to the garrison,  
Corporal."

The small party moved off. None of the men noticed  
the mound of huge rocks where an enormous bush had  
stood only a few moments before.

* * * * *

'Why is it so dark?' Zorro wondered as he blinked his  
eyes, vainly trying to find any source of light, but  
the blackness seemed to be complete. 'The roof of the  
cave must have collapsed,' he realized.

He concentrated on various parts of his body, feeling  
for pain before he made any attempt at movement. He  
was pleased to find only three areas of obvious pain -  
his head, his throat and his right ankle - and even  
they weren't too bad, but then, he hadn't tried to  
move yet either. He felt his scabbard pressing  
against the backs of his legs and some sort of  
pressure in an area from about the middle of his  
thighs to his feet, but it was more of a tightness  
than a crushing feeling.

He took a deep breath, braced himself for the pain he  
knew was coming and tried to move his legs. That was  
a mistake. Searing pain shot up from his injured  
ankle.

Frowning, he tried moving first his right arm, then  
his left and sighed in relief when he felt no  
restrictions or pain. He reached up, feeling nothing  
with his outstretched fingers. He finally sat up and  
felt around on the cave floor on either side of his  
body. He found his hat, or what was left of it,  
crumpled under a rock. He reached forward and  
carefully felt the boulder pinning his legs. Somehow  
it had, miraculously, come down on top of several  
smaller ones, trapping his legs, but, thankfully, not  
crushing them. Unfortunately, there was no way he  
could remove the boulder, or his legs, without further  
injury and he wasn't prepared to attempt it without  
light.

The ground shook again, throwing him back down onto  
his back. He tensed, fully expecting the boulder to  
fall and crush his legs, but it remained where it  
was. He coughed as the air around him filled with  
dust. He tried again to pull his legs free, but the  
pain that resulted from the attempt pushed him back  
into unconsciousness.

* * * * *

"Missed Zorro again, did you?" Alejandro asked with a  
grin as the alcalde walked slowly into the tavern.

The younger man's back stiffened. "I hardly think an  
injured man and a dead horse justifies such levity,  
Don Alejandro," DeSoto snapped.

Victoria Escalante put down the tray she was carrying  
and came over, her pretty face filled with concern.   
"Who was hurt, Alcalde?"

"Mendoza. His horse threw him during one of the  
tremors."

"Oh no!" Victoria gasped.

"How bad is it?" Alejandro asked.

DeSoto shrugged. "Bad enough. His shoulder is badly  
sprained. Doctor Hernandez has ordered him to stay in  
bed for several days. It may be weeks before he will  
be well enough to return to duty."

"Where was this, Alcalde?" Alejandro asked.

"Diablo Canyon. Why?"

The older man shrugged. "Just curious." He finished  
his drink and stood. "Well, if you will excuse me,  
I've got some business to attend to. Alcalde, please  
tell Mendoza that I'll be over to visit him later, if  
he's up to it."

The alcalde nodded and the caballero left the tavern.

Alejandro tried to hide his concern as he mounted  
Dulcinea and turned the cream colored mare toward the  
hacienda. He knew he was over-reacting to the  
alcalde's news, but Diego was his son, even if he was  
also Zorro.

When he reached the hacienda, he handed Dulcinea off  
to one of the ranch hands and went inside to search  
for Felipe. He finally found the younger man in the  
kitchen helping Maria, the de la Vega's cook, clean up  
after the short series of earthquakes.

"Has Diego returned yet?"

Felipe shook his head. He laid aside the broom he'd  
been using and signed that Diego had told him not to  
expect him before dark.

Alejandro nodded. "Yes, I know about the bandidos."   
Then, choosing his words carefully since Maria was  
still in the room, he told Felipe what had happened in  
Diablo Canyon. He knew very well that, if he and  
Felipe were to go tramping about in Diablo Canyon,  
Zorro's secret might be exposed, but his concern was  
gnawing at him. He took a deep breath. "I'll be in  
the garden," he said finally. Maybe some time with  
his plants would help, but he doubted it. Somehow, he  
knew Diego's disappearance in Diablo Canyon wasn't  
just another of his tricks to avoid capture by the  
alcalde and his men.

* * * * *

"Still dark," Zorro thought as he woke for the second  
time. His ankle throbbed and the pressure of his  
scabbard against his leg had become more than a little  
irritating. He tried again to shift his position and  
pull at his belt, but the movements only served to  
increase the strain on his ankle so he finally laid  
back on the cave floor and tried to rest. His ankle  
was either sprained or broken and, in either case, he  
wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

A slight smile crossed his face. "Well, if I'm in  
pain, I can't be dead," he muttered.

"There are many kinds of pain, Diego," a male voice,  
hardly louder than a whisper, said from the darkness.   
"Some forms are worse than others.

Zorro sat up, startled. "Who's there?" he asked in  
surprise. He knew the voice was familiar, but he  
couldn't place it.

"Look to your left."

He turned to see a dim figure. He blinked, but the  
image remained. "Gilberto?" He shook his head. "It  
can't be!"

A smile crossed the thin face. "But it is."

"You're dead," he insisted, feeling a bit foolish for  
stating the obvious. He had seen this man die in the  
garden of the de la Vega hacienda three months ago.

Gilberto had been Diego's twin brother. He'd been  
stolen by Inez Risendo, the midwife Alejandro and his  
wife had hired to supervise the birth of their child,  
never dreaming that there should have been two sons  
instead of one. Gilberto had been raised to hate the  
family he'd never known and had come to Los Angeles  
ostensibly as a royal emissary, but, in actuality,  
with plans to kill his father and brother and claim  
the inheritance he felt had been stolen from him. He  
had managed to discover Zorro's identity and had been  
cocking his pistol to kill Diego when Ignacio DeSoto  
arrived and shot him, believing he was saving Diego's  
life as well as his own.

"Very true, brother, but, as you are trapped by those  
stones, I am also trapped - halfway between life and  
death."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Perhaps as retribution for the choices  
I made in life."

"You weren't completely to blame for what happened,"  
he said after a few moments.

Gilberto shook his head sadly. "No, Diego, I had many  
opportunities to either prove or disprove the lies my  
"mother" told me, but I never took advantage of them."

"You acted on what you were told. Inez Risendo was  
filled with hatred."

Gilberto laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "I  
spent my entire life hating you, and our parents, and  
you can forgive me that easily?"

Diego shifted his position and winced as his ankle  
protested before he responded. "I understand why you  
did what you did - forgiving you is another matter."

Gilberto considered his brother's response. "Yes, I  
see your point."

Diego unbuckled his belt and tried again to pull his  
scabbard from beneath his legs, but the sabre Sir  
Edmund had given him so many years ago, was evidently  
wedged tight beneath the stones. He slammed his  
gloved fist down hard on the cave floor in  
frustration.

"That won't help, Diego."

"You're in no position to help me get free, I  
suppose."

Gilberto shook his head. "No, I'm not."

Diego glared up at his dead brother's image. "No!   
Wait!” he cried as it flared into white brilliance,  
then vanished. The presence of his brother's ghost,  
if that's what it had been, had been disturbing, but,  
at least, it had been some relief from the unrelenting  
blackness that Surrounded him.

* * * * *

Alejandro knelt in his garden, his fingers moving  
among the healthy plants with an ease born of long  
experience. His garden was a place of relaxation and  
contemplation. He often spent hours tending the  
delicate plants that he and his wife had placed here  
so many years earlier. Some of them, Felicidad had  
brought back with her from Spain when Diego was just a  
baby. He felt so close to her here that, at times, he  
could almost hear her soft, soprano voice singing - as  
if she still worked beside him.

The elder de la Vega was so intent on his work that he  
didn't hear Felipe come up behind him and tap him on  
the shoulder.

He looked up as the younger man, his dark eyes filled  
with concern, pointed up at the lowering sun."

*You cone. Eat,* Felipe signed.

Alejandro shook his head as he got to his feet. "No,  
Felipe, I'm not hungry. I'll wait for Diego."

Felipe shook his head insistently. *Come!*

Alejandro smiled. He put a hand on the shoulder of  
the young man Diego had adopted into their family.   
"Very well, Felipe, let's go and..." 

The two of them froze, then stared in disbelief. They  
backed away. 

"No, that's not possible," Alejandro whispered.   
"Felipe, do you see it, too?"

Felipe nodded, his eyes wide with fear and  
fascination. He'd seen many strange things since he'd  
come to live with the de la Vegas, but this was  
incredible!

"Father, I..." the figure began.

"Gilberto? No," Alejandro said, frowning. He'd seen  
this son die in this very garden months ago. "I..."

"Listen to me, old man, or you'll lose another son!"  
Gilberto snapped. "There isn't much time."

"What are you talking about?"

"Diego is trapped in a small cave in Diablo Canyon."

"Why are you..."

"Why am I helping him? I don't know. I only know  
he'll die unless he's rescued very soon."

"Which cave?"

"I'll guide you, but we must move quickly."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?"

An odd expression crossed the spectre's face. "Look  
along the north face," he said softly and vanished.

The men stood in silence for a moment before Alejandro  
took a deep breath and turned to Felipe. He ran a  
hand down his suddenly damp face and walked into the  
hacienda. "It must be a trap of some sort," he  
insisted as he and the younger man entered the  
library.

Felipe shrugged.

"I don't think we have much choice. Get the horses."

The younger man nodded and dashed off.

* * * * * 

They arrived at Diablo Canyon sometime later to find  
Toronado neighing in obvious concern and scraping at a  
large pile of rocks with a hoof.

Felipe slipped off his pinto and went over to the big  
stallion. He patted the well-muscled neck and tried  
to walk the horse away, but Toronado shied away from  
him and continued pawing at the pile.

"Diego!" Alejandro shouted.

There was no response.

He and Felipe began lifting the smaller rocks and  
tossing them out of their way.

Alejandro stood, shaking his head. "It's too much.   
We're going to need some help, Felipe."

The mute young man shook his head and pulled at  
another, larger boulder.

"We can't do this alone. I'll have go to the pueblo  
for help."

Felipe signed something and the older man nodded.

"Yes, that's an excellent suggestion." Alejandro took  
a rope from Dulcinea's saddle, fashioned it into a  
bridle and put it around Toronado's muzzle and mounted  
Dulcinea. He urged the creamy mare forward and, while  
the stallion protested at first, he finally followed  
his master's father.

Felipe returned to the fallen rocks and continued  
moving away the boulders he could lift alone. He  
wished he could call out to his friend and let him  
know he was there, trying to help.

* * * * *

In the cave, Diego had heard his father call out and  
had tried to respond, but he doubted Alejandro had  
heard him. He was beginning to have more and more  
trouble breathing. The air seemed to be growing  
thinner as every moment passed. Someone was above  
him, moving rocks. Dust fluttered down and he  
coughed. The coughing made his ankle ache and he  
tried, unsuccessfully, to quell the impulse.

* * * * *

Alejandro stopped at the hacienda only long enough to  
tie Toronado in the hidden cave before he rode, hard  
and fast, into the plaza. He slid down to the ground  
in front of the tavern and entered, trying not to  
attract too much attention. He had come for Victoria  
and her brother, Ramon, and didn't particularly want  
anyone else joining them in his son's rescue.

He found the two of them sitting at a table just  
inside the door and quickly went to join them.   
"Victoria, I'm glad I found you. Zorro's in trouble."

The pretty tavern owner's dark eyes widened in  
surprise. "What's the matter?"

Alejandro told the two of them what had happened and  
Ramon was half-way out the door before he grabbed the  
younger man's arm and pulled him back. "I don't want  
us to attract the alcalde's attention. If he finds  
out we're going to help Zorro..." He didn't need to  
finish the sentence. Alejandro said nothing else as  
he walked out the front door of the tavern and back to  
Dulcinea.

Victoria went quickly into the kitchen. She grabbed a  
few things she thought she might need and went out the  
back door to join Ramon as he hitched Victoria's  
horses to her wagon. They joined Alejandro just  
outside the towering gateposts and headed for Diablo  
Canyon.

They arrived at the canyon a short time later to find  
Felipe, his face filled with exhaustion, sitting on a  
large boulder. Victoria and Ramon leapt down from the  
wagon and joined the young man at the pile of rocks.

"Zorro!" Victoria shouted into the small opening  
Felipe had cleared. "Zorro!"

There was still no response and Alejandro frowned in  
concern.

Between the four of them, the boulders almost seemed  
to move themselves. As soon as there was an opening  
in the rocks large enough to accommodate them, Felipe  
and Ramon took the lantern Victoria had brought and,  
after a few moments, pulled a limp form from the  
darkness of the cave. Victoria clambered up into the  
back of the wagon and they laid Zorro carefully into  
her arms.

The man in black was unconscious, his ankle swollen to  
the size of a grapefruit and his face pale beneath a  
thin layer of dust and dirt. Tears streamed down  
Victoria's face as she took Zorro's right hand in hers  
and stroked the masked man's cheek with her thumb.   
One of her tears fell onto Zorro's face. It slid down  
his cheek, leaving a trail of pale skin in the dirt.   
He stirred slightly.

Zorro said nothing as his blue eyes opened. They  
seemed to focus on her face for a moment, then closed  
as he drifted off again.

"Let's take him to the hacienda," Alejandro said. He  
was having trouble controlling his emotions.

"Yes," Ramon agreed over Victoria's protests. "He'll  
be safer there, Victoria," he said. "If we take him  
to the tavern, he might be seen."

Reluctantly, his sister agreed. Ramon took the reins  
and snapped them against the horses' backs as Victoria  
remained in the back of the wagon with Zorro. Felipe  
and Alejandro followed on their horses.

* * * * *

At the de la Vega hacienda, Ramon and Felipe lifted  
Zorro from the back of the wagon and carried him into  
an unoccupied bedroom. Felipe went off for Doctor  
Hernandez and returned a short time later with the old  
doctor.

It took both Ramon and Felipe to convince Victoria to  
leave Zorro's side as the doctor examined him.   
Alejandro remained in the room, ready to go for  
anything the other man needed. After a few moments,  
Hernandez called Victoria back in and told them all  
that Zorro's right ankle was very badly damaged,  
almost broken and he would have to be kept in bed and  
quiet for at least a week or there could be serious  
complications. Zorro came around as Victoria and  
Ramon entered the room. His eyes went immediately to  
Victoria's worried features.

"Zorro?" Victoria said. She took his gloved hand and  
squeezed it.

He frowned and tried to speak, but coughed instead.

"Don't try to talk, Zorro,"  
Hernandez warned. "Your vocal cords were badly  
bruised," he explained, pointing to a nasty looking  
spot on the other man's throat. "If you try to speak,  
you could damage them permanently. I'm sure you'll be  
fine in a few days, but you mustn't speak."

The masked man frowned, then nodded. He squeezed  
Victoria's hand and stared up into her dark eyes.

She smiled and returned the gentle squeeze. "I'll  
stay with him," she offered.

Zorro shook his head insistently. He tried to sit up,  
but Alejandro pushed him back down onto the pillows.   
He gestured for something to write with. Felipe went  
off and returned a moment later with a pencil and  
paper. He handed them to Zorro and stepped back.

Zorro wrote in a fast scrawl that was  
as different from his regular handwriting as he could  
make it.

"That doesn't matter," she responded after she'd read  
it.

 

"You don't want me here?" she asked, feeling a little  
hurt.

__

_"I can't just leave you," she protested, her eyes  
filling._

_Zorro's eyes flicked to Ramon for help. How could he  
make her understand just how dangerous this situation  
could be - for all of them._

_"Don Alejandro and Felipe will look after him," Ramon  
told her. "You can come visit later."_

_"Very well then," she agreed reluctantly. "I'll go  
home."_

_Zorro relaxed against the pillows. He squeezed her  
hand again in gratitude. There were so many things he  
wanted to say to her, but he knew he must heed the  
doctor's warning. He wondered vaguely whether this  
was the way Felipe felt at times as the medicine  
Doctor Hernandez had given him finally took effect and  
he drifted off to sleep._

_Alejandro and Felipe saw the others out, thanking them  
for all their help and returned to Diego's side.   
Alejandro removed the black mask and laid it on the  
stand beside the bed. Between the two of them, they  
removed the black shirt and trousers and replaced them  
with one of Diego's nightshirts._

_Felipe took the clothing away as Alejandro bent to  
cover Diego with a heavy blanket against the night's  
chill. He sat in a chair near the bed and waited.   
Sometime later, he saw a flicker off to one side and  
looked up to see a tall figure standing in the dimness  
of a far corner. "Gilberto, is that you?" he asked  
quietly, not wanting to disturb Diego._

_The figure moved closer, the lantern light falling on  
the thin face. "Yes, Father," he answered._

_Alejandro took a deep breath.  
“Thank you," he told him. "I don't know what else I  
can say. Diego might have died if it weren't for  
you. Why did you help him?"_

_A thin smile crossed the other man's lips. His blue  
eyes shifted to his sleeping brother's face.   
"Somehow, it mattered, Father. It was important that  
he live - that I help him survive. As if it would...  
make amends for the mistakes I made. As if helping  
him would earn your forgiveness."_

_Alejandro felt his heart tighten in his chest. He and  
Diego had tried to discuss the events the madwoman,  
Inez Risendo, had caused by stealing Gilberto from his  
parents, but there had been too much pain - too many  
emotions -too many memories - to deal with.   
Gilberto's accusations had ripped open the terrible  
scars that had remained in Alejandro's heart after the  
death of his wife._

_Finally, Alejandro cleared his throat. "I've been  
thinking about this ever since you... died. I'm  
certain things would have been much different if we'd  
never hired Inez Risendo. When I think of all the  
things you and Diego could have done together." He  
shook his head. "I don't suppose there's any point in  
wondering now. What matters, Gilberto, is that Diego  
and I never held you responsible for what happened,"  
he told his dead son solemnly. "I think you must  
forgive yourself for what happened, if you're ever  
going to rest."_

_"I don't know that I can ever do that, Father,"  
Gilberto began, his voice tight with emotion. "I told  
Diego earlier, that I could have verified Inez  
Risendo's claims, but I never tried."_

_"She raised you, Gilberto, you had no choice but to  
accept her lies. Children believe their parents."_

_A strange look flowed over the spectre's face and a  
tear glistened in the lamplight. The figure flared in  
sudden brilliance, then vanished, leaving Alejandro in  
the darkness. The elder de la Vega wiped the dampness  
he hadn't noticed before from his face and glanced  
over to where his son lay in the bed. He knew Diego  
would sleep for several hours yet and left the room.   
He called for Felipe and the younger man returned with  
a cot and laid down to get some sleep while Alejandro  
went to the library to deal with something he'd been  
considering ever since Gilberto's death._

_He hadn't been in the library long when Gilberto's  
figure reappeared._

_"What is it?" Alejandro asked, seeing the terrible  
expression on his dead son's thin face._

_"The alcalde's on his way with a party of lancers.  
They found out Zorro is here, somehow, and they're  
coming to arrest him."_

_"But Diego's in no condition to..."_

_"I know. You and Felipe must hide him. If the  
alcalde finds him, he'll surely kill him."_

_Alejandro's face brightened. "There's only one place  
in this house where he'll never be found."_

_Gilberto nodded. "Yes, Zorro's cave. Hurry, Father,  
you haven't got much time!" he urged, then vanished as  
suddenly as he had come._

_Alejandro stood and went quickly into the bedroom.  
"Felipe, help me," he said, throwing back the covers  
and raising his son's shoulders off the bed._

_The younger man sat up a bit groggily, but, woke  
quickly and helped Alejandro lift Diego's limp body  
from the bed. It took some doing, Diego was much  
taller and heavier than either his father or Felipe,  
but they managed to carry him down the corridor and  
into the library. Felipe nudged the mechanism that  
opened the narrow door into the cave and they carried  
Diego through it. They sat him down in the heavy  
chair behind the desk while Felipe returned to the  
bedroom for the mask and cot and Alejandro quickly  
made the bed. Felipe tossed the mask onto a small  
table and they quickly transferred Diego to the cot  
and covered him, then rushed back to the hacienda,  
arriving just in time to answer the alcalde's knock at  
the door._

_"What is it, Alcalde?" Alejandro asked, yawning into  
his fist. "Felipe and I were just going to bed. It's  
rather late for you and your lancers to be storming  
around, isn't it?"_

_"Where is Zorro?" Ignacio DeSoto asked, practically  
shoving Don Alejandro out of his way._

_"I don't know," Alejandro lied._

_"He was here!" DeSoto insisted. "Lancers, search the  
hacienda," he ordered. "I want that troublemaker  
found!"_

_"Where is Diego?" the alcalde asked._

_"Santa Paula. I don't expect him back for several  
days," Alejandro answered._

_"Damned convenient," DeSoto snapped. "You know, Don  
Alejandro, if Diego weren't so... incompetent, I'd  
almost believe he was Zorro."_

_"Now, Alcalde, you know that's not possible,"  
Alejandro said with a chuckle._

_"Of course, I do."_

_"How is Sergeant Mendoza?"_

_"He'll live, but if I find Zorro here..." he let the  
threat hang._

_The lancers returned._

_"Well?"_

_"Nothing, sir," Sepulveda said. "Only Don Alejandro  
and the boy."_

_"That's not possible!" DeSoto roared. "They were seen  
carrying Zorro into the house."_

_"Oh, Zorro WAS here earlier, Alcalde," Don Alejandro  
admitted. "He was injured. I sent Felipe for Doctor  
Hernandez and, after the doctor treated him, he left."_

_"You said he wasn't here," DeSoto yelled._

_"Well, he isn't - NOW, " Alejandro retorted. "He left  
some time ago."_

_"I could put you in jail for helping him," DeSoto said  
under his breath._

_Alejandro locked his dark eyes on DeSoto's paler ones  
and the two stood staring at each other for several  
seconds before DeSoto broke the contact._

_"I warn you, Don Alejandro, the next person who helps  
Zorro will pay dearly for their interference." DeSoto  
bellowed to the lancers and strode out the front door,  
slamming it behind him._

_Alejandro and Felipe exchanged satisfied grins. "You  
know, Felipe, I think I could begin to like this. No  
wonder Diego enjoys tormenting the alcalde so. Come  
on, let's get him back into his bed before he takes a  
chill down there in the cave."_

_Felipe nodded and he and Alejandro returned Diego to  
the bed. He spotted the piece of paper Alejandro had  
tucked into his shirt pocket and tapped it, curiosity  
in his expressive brown eyes._

_"That's an order for a new tombstone."_

_Felipe's eyes widened._

_"I'm going to have another tombstone made for  
Gilberto. I think it's only proper to have his "real"  
name on the stone, especially after tonight."_

_Felipe nodded his agreement._

_* * * * *_

_A few days later, Victoria arrived for a visit to find  
Zorro propped up in bed, reading a thick book._

_"Good morning, Zorro," she said, coming into the room  
with a small, covered basket. "How are you feeling  
today?"_

_He closed the book and smiled up at her. "Much  
better," he said. His voice was still a little  
gravelly, and it obviously hurt to talk._

_"I'm glad. Are Don Alejandro and Felipe taking good  
care of you?"_

_He grinned. "As if I were a member of their own  
family. I wanted to thank you and Ramon for helping  
me."_

_Her face darkened slightly with embarrassment.  
"You're very welcome."_

_"Why are you so formal today?" he asked._

_"Well, it's hardly proper, you know, me being alone in  
a bedroom with you. Doña Alicia and her hens would  
certainly be clucking about it, if they ever found  
out, that is."_

_He cleared his throat. "Well, we are "engaged",  
aren't we?" he reminded her with a grin. "And,  
unfortunately, I'm in no condition to try anything  
"improper", Victoria."_

_"Pity," she muttered._

_"What was that?" he asked. He'd heard her, he just  
felt like teasing her, just a bit._

_"Nothing," she said, blushing. "I brought you a  
surprise."_

_His eyes widened. "Oh?"_

_She laid the basket on the bed beside him and  
uncovered it. Inside, on a plate, lay a disk of  
custard covered by a thin coating of caramel. "Yes, a  
flan."_

_It was all he could do to keep from laughing as he  
remembered Lupita's gift to Felipe nearly a week  
before. "Why, thank you, Victoria, I'm sure I'll  
enjoy this. But such a gift deserves one in return,"  
he said, patting the bed beside him and, holding up  
two fingers, he beckoned her toward him. "I'm sorry I  
couldn't let you stay the other night," he whispered  
as she joined him on the bed._

_"I understand. You were right. If the alcalde had  
found you here, he would have caused trouble for the  
de la Vegas. Would you like me to give you some of  
the flan?" she asked._

_He shook his head. "There's only one thing I want  
from you at the moment," he said and pulled her toward  
him for a kiss._

_* * * * *_

_Gilberto's form appeared a final time at the far  
corner of the room. He'd intended to come to say  
goodbye to his brother, but seeing him with Victoria  
Escalante, forced a smile across his lips. He had no  
further reason to remain here and vanished as silently  
as he had come - never to return. His brother and  
father had their own lives to lead and Gilberto knew  
he could no longer be a part of them. He also knew  
that, despite the challenges that were ahead for Diego  
and his father, their lives would be long and happy ones._


End file.
